Yuri Pashenko
Yuri Sergeiyevich Pashenko (28th November 1931 – 21st September 2000) was a reformist Tabi'atstani politician who served as President of the USSRT. Early life Write the first section of your page here. Early political career Write the second section of your page here. President of the USSRT President Liu Sutai's extravagant lifestyle and lavish spending (by Tabi'atstani standard) had caused increasing disillusionment with him among influential members of the Communist Part of Tabi'atstan. Taking advantage of this, Pashenko presented himself as someone who could reform the Tabi'atstani system to revive the socialist spirit of the country. On this platform, he gained many supporters from party members who were fed up with Liu. On the 10th March 2000, Pashenko was sworn in as President of the USSRT, replacing Liu Sutai. Attempted reform During his campaigning to gain support within the CPT for his bid to become President, Pashenko had tried to show himself to be a socialist who would reform the system whilst maintaining the CPT's monopoly on power. However, upon becoming President, he revealed his interest in pursuing reforms similar to those of Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, believing that the USSRT's comparative lack of regional nationalism would allow such reforms to be applied successfully. This was in direct contradiction to the policies of Behri Soomekh, who believed in maintaining strict authoritarian control and whose policies were continued by Liu Sutai. Pashenko was confident that his position as President would protect him from criticism or opposition from the party, as elections for the position of President were never held early; even when Boris Yurenev was assassinated, the government opted to have then-Foreign Minister Behri Soomekh become provisional President rather than hold new elections, although they allowed him to fulfil a full term rather than simply complete the remainder of Yurunev's term and voted him in as President for another term. Historically in the USSRT, most politicians were unlikely to openly voice opposition to the President even if they were not supportive of the President's policy, and the concept of democratic centralism meant that any minority that did do so could be accused of factionalism. As such, Pashenko was convinced that he would be able to pass his reforms with ease, whilst in reality, many Tabi'atstani politicians felt cheated by him and were strongly opposed to his ideas. On the 21st August 2000, during a meeting of the Politburo, President Pashenko put forward a motion for discussion regarding the democratisation of the USSRT and a reduction in the size of the armed forces. As most of the hardliner politicians had been sent on a party tour of a new oil refinery in the remote Karzhag Island province, the meeting had been filled with Pashenko's supporters, and the motion passed. Planned reductions included cutting the army down by 61% to a force of 55 motor rifle divisions and 20 tank divisions, bringing down the size of the air force by 50%, and decreasing the number of ships in the navy to 500, with all of this being unilateral with no comparable reductions from the Barbergen Zone and its allies. In response, the hardliners prepared to launch a coup, and on the 21st September 2000, a month after the motion had been passed, the military moved troops into Qal'eh Manar to depose Pashenko. Death Category:Tabi'atstan Category:Tabi'atstani Category:Presidents of the USSRT Category:Politics of Tabi'atstan